target=”_blank”> BeatBuddy_Manual_v10
Contents
1. IEL EZANI i BES AW EB LJ ED iN This Manual was written for Firmware version 1 4 1 To check the Firmware version on your BeatBuddy press the drum set and tempo knobs down at the same time and select About BeatBuddy If you do not have the latest version of the firmware please visit myBeatBuddy com downloads Table of Contents 1 Introduction What the BeatBuddy is and is not 2 How to Plug in Power supply SD card sound systems footswitch and instruments 3 How to use Content navigation controlling the beat and visual display 4 Settings Main pedal functions intro defaults active pause MIDI footswitch type and functions 5 MIDI Sync What it s for and how it works Support of External MIDI notes 6 Tips and tricks Get the most out of your BeatBuddy 7 BB Manager Download more content amp create your own 8 Technical support Simple solutions and where to go for help 9 Technical specifications 10 Warranty p 3 p 6 p 11 p 17 p 20 p 2 p 29 p 30 p 31 p 32 1 Introduction Congratulations and thank you for purchasing your BeatBuddy What it does BeatBuddy is the worlds first pedal drum machine that enables musicians to easily control the beat hands free Just by pressing a pedal you can Start a beat insert fills transition from verse to chorus throw in drum breaks pauses trigger accent hits such as hand claps or cymbal crash2. al BE j i iS r 12 Volume knob Adjusts the volume of the beats Does not affect the sound level of any instrument that is plugged into the BeatBuddy Drum Set knob Changes the drum set sounds being played by the beat Tempo knob Scroll to change the tempo speed of the beat measured by BPM Beats Per Minute Press to enter the Songs selection screen While in Songs selection screen turning the tempo knob scrolls through songs and pressing the tempo knob selects the currently selected song Pressing the Drum Set knob exits to the Folder selection screen where you can use the Tempo knob to scroll through and select a folder and pressing the Drum Set knob again exits to the home screen Up Down arrows Scroll up and down in the screen menu Left Right arrows Selects folder song right arrow exits folder left arrow Tap button Enters Tap Tempo mode Press the button or pedal to the tempo of a song and the BeatBuddy will calculate the tempo BPM Headphones Volume Controls the volume sent to the headphones jack including beats and any instrument sound if present When song is playing Pause unpause beat When no song is playing Advances to next song in the folder First tap Start beat with optional intro fill Tap once Insert fill different fill each time Hold down Begin transition Release End transition and advance to next song part Double tap End song with optional o
3. and continues playing the beat in time When unpaused the BeatBuddy unmutes and continues playing drums This behaviour is recommended when the BeatBuday Is acting as Slave in MIDI Sync Press the Drum Set and Tempo knobs down at the same time to enter the Settings menu to enable Mute Pause Support of External MIDI notes You can stream MIDI notes into the BeatBuddy from external devices to play on the BeatBuddy s ultra high quality drum sets Just connect your external device such as a computer or electronic drum set to the BeatBuddy s MIDI IN cable This is very useful for when you are composing beats on your computer and want to hear how it will Sound on the BeatBuddy no need to export the file into the BeatBuddy Manager This is also great to use with your electronic drum sets to get the BeatBuddy s incredible sound instead of the drum set s lower quality built in Sounds 26 21 6 Tips and Tricks End the song with fast presses on a cymbal crash accent hit to simulate a drummer doing a swell as the song ends with a big finale Stepping on both the Pause and Accent hit footswitches at the same time stops the drums with a crash cymbal sound if the accent hit is a crash cymbal a nice effect While paused press on the main pedal to unpause with a fill instead of using the footswitch to unpause with the regular main beat This adds a dramatic flourish when unpausing the beat Starting a song with a do
4. atBuddy unless the BeatBuddy is plugged into your amp s AUX jack then it is fine So if your amps distortion is on the beats will sound distorted It is highly recommended to have your amp set to a clean neutral tone for the best sound and use other effects pedals instead of the amps effects If you are using BeatBuddy with other effect pedals it is recommended to place BeatBuddy after all of the other pedals in the effects chain so that the BeatBuddy s sound isnt affected by your other pedals 10 BeatBuddy will never damage your amps speaker through normal use Though if you prefer using your amp exclusively for your instrument you may use a Separate amp for BeatBuddy This will also allow you to enjoy the built in effects of your main amp for your guitar without affecting the BeatBuddy s drum sounds One additional issue that may arise from using the same amp to play your guitar and the BeatBuddy s beats is that on some amps the sound of the bass drum will cause the guitar to tremolo or waver a bit to the beat While some people love this effect if you would like to reduce it lower the Bass Low setting on your amp 11 SQOu PWN gt 3 How to use the BeatBuddy Visual Metronome Shows where the beat Is in the measure Name of song Folder where song Is stored Time signature of beat Playback status Drumset currently selected Volume and tempo values Volume Drum Set Tempo
5. center positive adapter it wont harm your BeatBuddy either but your BeatBuddy wont turn on Using your pedal board s power supply If you would like to use your pedal board s octopus power Supply a single power supply that powers all of your pedals make sure it is 9V and center negative most are BEFORE plugging it in To calculate if your pedal board s power supply has enough Amps to power the BeatBuddy add up all of the Amps that your other pedals require usually written on the bottom of the pedal Remember 1000 mA milliAmps 1 0 A Amps and add 0 3 Amps for the BeatBuddy s requirement If this total is more Amps than your power Supply can produce for example the total of all of your pedals plus the BeatBuddy is 2 5 Amps but your power supply can only produce 2 0 Amps then the BeatBuddy won t turn on neither will any of your other pedals because there isn t enough power available SD Card All of the BeatBuddy s content beats drum sets are stored onthe SD card The SD card must be properly inserted into the BeatBuddy for it to work cp The BeatBuddy SD card comes loaded with 10 drum sets and 200 songs in many different styles If you lose your SD card you can download the default BeatBuddy content to put on anew SD card at myBeatBuddy com downloads Sound System BeatBuddy can be used without an instrument plugged into it It will produce sound whether an instrument is plugged into It or not The i
6. des out as the hi hat closes But because the BeatBuddy Is digital and was performing this instantly the transition was too abrupt creating a skipping sound So we added a release time algorithm which fades out the choked sound over a period of time This creates a Smoother and more realistic sound We put ina release time of 100ms 1 10th of a second because we think this sounds best But if you want to experiment with the amount of Release Time used you Can adjust it with this setting About BeatBuddy ID The unique identification number of your BeatBuddy s CPU This is used to verify that you have an authentic BeatBuddy Version The version of the firmware that is running on your BeatBuddy 24 5 MIDI Sync MIDI Sync is a powerful tool to integrate the BeatBuddy with your other MIDI enabled devices such as MIDI Sync enabled loopers and effects to create a powerful performance or recording system For example when the BeatBuddy is synced with a MIDI Sync enabled looper such as the Pigtronix Infinity Boomerang IIl TC Helicon VoiceLive 3 or Boss RC 300 the looper can complete the loops exactly on the beat so that the recorded loop stays In sync with the drums Ifa MIDI Sync enabled delay effect is used it will time the length of the delay to the speed of the beat so it sounds perfectly in sync with the drums The BeatBuddy supports IN or OUT Slave or Master respectively MIDI Sync This means it can either set the t
7. empo for your other MIDI based devices BeatBuddy is Master or obey the tempo that is set by some other external unit you already own BeatBuddy is Slave When BeatBuddy is Master Connect the BeatBuddy s MIDI Sync OUT to the other device s IN port When BeatBuddy is Slave Connect the BeatBuddy s MIDI Sync IN to the other device s OUT port MIDI Sync functions currently supported are Tempo Clock Start and Stop MIDI Sync Cable In order to keep the BeatBuddy in a compact single pedal format while still accommodating both IN and OUT MIDI a special MIDI 25 Sync breakout cable sold separately is required to convert the BeatBuddy s PS 2 MIDI Sync port into 2 standard full size 5 pin MIDI ports You will still need a normal 5 pin MIDI cable to connect the MIDI Sync Cable to your other MIDI device Pause during MIDI Sync When using MIDI Sync BeatBuddy s pause feature can operate In two modes e Normal Pause When the BeatBuddy Is paused MIDI Stop command is sent by the BeatBuddy to stop all synced devices When unpaused MIDI Start is sent to restart all synced devices The beat Is restarted at the beginning of the measure to keep in time with other devices This behavior is more appropriate when BeatBuddy is acting as Master in MIDI Sync e Mute Pause When the BeatBuddy is paused no MIDI control commands are sent to other devices allowing them to effectively continue playing while BeatBuday only mutes its own sound
8. es and more It is the closest thing to having areal drummer And it wont drink all of your beer Content format The BeatBuday is a MIDI based drum machine The beats in the songs are MIDI files MIDI files are like musical notes on sheet music which tell the musician what to play on an instrument The drum sets on the BeatBuddy are collections libraries of WAV sound files which are recordings of the actual drum sounds The MIDI files trigger the WAV files in the drum sets That is how the BeatBuddy is able to play any beat any time signature using any drum set at different tempo settings to get a completely different sound Whenever possible the BeatBuddy s drum sets and beats were set up using the General MIDI Drum Map so that most beats work with most drum sets Please note that not all beats and drum sets sound good together it may sound strange to play jazz beats on a heavy metal drum set or it may sound cool You decide Content Organization The BeatBuddy s beats are organized into songs each comprising song parts Such as verse or chorus Each song part has a main beat loop an accent hit and multiple fills associated with it When transitioning between song parts the song parts are played in order until the last song part Is played and then it goes back to the first song part The entire combination of songs and drum sets on your BeatBuddy is called a Project and is all stored on the SD card You may
9. have one Project per SD card What the BeatBuddy is Not The BeatBuddy is not a traditional drum machine Drum machines have traditionally been used to create beats The BeatBuddy is a performance tool and cannot be used to create beats New beats can be created on the many beat creation software programs available Such as Guitar Pro Cubase ProTools GarageBand Ableton EZ Drummer etc and loaded onto the BeatBuddy with the BeatBuddy Manager Software available as a FREE download at myBeatBuddy com downloads The BeatBuddy is not a traditional effect pedal Unlike other effects pedals the BeatBuddy is not intended to modify your instrument s sound It has input jacks only in case you want to put both the BeatBuddy and your instrument into the Same sound system without the need for a mixer The beats are not changed by your instrument s sound No instrument needs to be plugged into the BeatBuddy for it to work normally so the BeatBuddy can be a stand alone tool used by any musician 2 How to plug in Power The BeatBuddy uses a 9V 500mA center negative power supply If you use a power supply of more than 9V or plug it directly into AC power you will destroy your BeatBuddy and your warranty will NOT be valid This would be painful for everyone especially your BeatBuddy Do not do this The power supply must have a minimum of 300mA 0 3 Amps for the BeatBuddy to turn on More amps won t harm your BeatBuddy If you use a
10. ne No intro is played The main beat begins immediately when the pedal is pressed Main Pedal gt Default Tempo When enabled it will automatically load the saved tempo for each song But if you know the tempo of a song you want to play but are searching for the best beat select Disable so the tempo doesn t change every time you change the song Tip To change the default tempo of a song press and hold down the tempo knob Main Pedal gt Default Drum set When enabled it will automatically load the saved drum set for each song But if you want to try a few different songs with the same drum set select Disable so the drum set doesnt change every time you change the song Tip To change the default drum set of a song press and hold down the drum set knob 21 Main Pedal gt Mute Pause When enabled mutes the beat while paused Normal pause mute pause disabled stops the beat and when unpaused starts the beat at the beginning of the measure Mute Pause should be enabled when the BeatBuday is being controlled by another MIDI device so that it doesnt go out of sync with the other device when paused If MIDI Enabled option is selected then Mute Pause is automatically enabled when BeatBuddy is acting as Slave in MIDI Sync Main Pedal gt Main Pedal Unpause gt Tap While paused and the main pedal is tapped pressed quickly you have the option to unpause the song from the beginning with the intro fill Intro option or to U
11. ngs or use the tempo knob to scroll up and Footswitch D down Main Pedal About BeatBuddy v Restore Default Settings Pressing the Tempo knob lt EXIT SETTINGS selects the currently highlighted item Volume BINS Drum Set Tempo Pressing the Drum Set knob exits to the previous screen SEAT BWIDi mig 17 18 Footswitch gt Footswitch Detector Detects the type of footswitch that is plugged into the BeatBuddy Use this whenever using a new footswitch with the BeatBuddy or if your footswitch doesnt seem to be working correctly such as it only works every other press or triggers a command on both the press and release Footswitch gt Footswitch Configuration Manually adjusts the footswitch settings Not necessary if you use the Footswitch Detector Footswitch gt Footswitch Configuration gt Footswitch Type Sets the type of footswitch Either latching locked press once for on press again for off or momentary unlocked press for on release for off Footswitch gt Footswitch Configuration gt Footswitch Order Makes the Left switch Right and Right switch Left Footswitch gt Footswitch Configuration gt Footswitch Polarity The type of momentary switch used Default Off is when you have to press the switch to turn On the circuit Default On is when you have to press the switch to turn Off the circuit Footswitch Functions Changes the functions of the optional external foot
12. npause with the next fill in the currently playing song part Fill option Main Pedal gt Main Pedal Unpause gt Hold While paused and the main pedal is held down you have the option to stop the song useful if you want to end the song immediately by pausing it and don t want to have to restart the song to stop it or initiate the transition into the next song part Main Pedal gt MIDI Messages gt Start gt Intro Main Beat Sets the BeatBuddy to send the MIDI Sync start command either when the Intro starts or when the Main Beat starts Ifthe intro is less thana full measure long many intros are just a few beats then the Intro setting will cause the BeatBuddy to be out of sync with the other MIDI device 22 Main Pedal gt MIDI Messages gt BeatBuddy gt MIDI OUT MIDI THRU The BeatBuddady by default sends its own MIDI commands to the OUT channel We added the option to change it to MIDI THRU so if the BeatBuddy is receiving a signalin the MIDI IN channel it will pass that signal along unchanged to the MIDI OUT channel This is very useful to created a daisy chain of MIDI synced devices Currently there is no way to combine the MIDI messages that the BeatBuddy receives with the MIDI messages that the BeatBuday produces though we are working on this Main Pedal gt Cue Fill Period This allows you to set the amount of the measure that has been played before the fill is played in the next measure rather than in the cur
13. nput jacks are there in case you want to put both the BeatBuddy and your instrument sounds into the same Speaker without the need for a mixer The BeatBuddy produces line out level analogue sound Similar to a Standard music player or computer headphones jack You can plug the BeatBuddy into any speaker system that accepts 1 4 6 5mm or 1 8 3 5mm audio jacks oo ORR However like all audio the better the sound system it Is plugged into the better the BeatBuddy will sound The BeatBuddy sounds best when played through a high quality full range stereo sound system A PA system or a home stereo system is ideal you can plug the BeatBuddy s headphones port into the Aux input on your home stereo or guitar amplifier if it has one Many electric guitar amps and bass amps are not full range speakers they clip off the higher frequencies so they muffle the BeatBuddy s sound Acoustic guitar and keyboard amps are full range If youre not sure if your amp is full range listen to the BeatBuddy on high quality headphones to compare If there is a considerably noticeable difference in the audio then connecting it to a higher quality full range speaker system will enable you to hear the BeatBuddy s full potential But as always trust your own ears and do what sounds best to you Yuma Crum Sel Tempo liBEAT BUDDY If you have the BeatBuddy plugged into an amp any effects onthe amp will affect the sound of Be
14. ntent that came with your BeatBuddy The SD Card backup files and the BeatBuddy Manager Software is available at myBeatBuddy com downloads If youre having trouble fixing any problems with your BeatBuddy please email us at Support mybeatbuddy com 31 9 Technical Specifications Dimensions 5 long x 3 5 wide x 2 5 high 127mm x 86mm x 63mm Power 9v DC 300mA center negative Output Impedance 26 ohms Input Impedance gt 1Meg ohms Max Input Level 3 5 dBu Signal to Noise 95 dB typical D A 24 bits 44 1 kHz Frequency Response 10Hz to 20 kHz 10 Warranty Your BeatBuddy comes with a full one year warranty on parts and workmanship from the date of purchase During this period we will repair or replace at our option defective units free of charge Most issues can be solved by writing to us at If we cannot help you fix the problem we will have you send the BeatBuday in for servicing The warranty remains valid only if the serial number on the unit is not defaced or removed It does not cover damage due to misuse unauthorized tampering accident or neglect To validate your warranty please register your BeatBuddy within 30 days of purchase at
15. ongs at beatbuddytools com so you can find them more easily If you think of a cool new tip or trick please share it with the BeatBuddy community at myBeatBuddy com torum Thanks 29 7 BeatBuddy Manager Extra content can be downloaded from the BeatBudady Online Library at myBeatBudady com library or from the user forum at myBeatBuddy com forum BeatBuddy Manager software available for free download at myBeatBuddy com downloads will enable you to manage BeatBuddy content Re arrange the content on the BeatBuday create new songs by importing MIDI files add existing songs to the content and load an SD card with the content To use the BeatBuddy Manager software with your BeatBuddy you can either connect the BeatBuddy to your computer with the included USB cable make sure the SD card is properly inserted in the BeatBuddy or put the BeatBuddy s SD card in your computer s SD card reader Then when you are finished insert the SD card back in the BeatBuday 30 8 Technical Support If you notice anything strange with your BeatBuddy first make sure all the cables are firmly connected Then power the pedal off for a minute then plug it back in If that doesnt work the files on the SD card may have been corrupted this happens on rare occasions and you should delete all of the files from the SD card and re load your saved Project with the BeatBuddy Manager or the SD Card backup files which have the Default Co
16. rent one So if the setting Is at 75 and you tap the pedal before 5 of the measure has been played then the fill will start immediately and end in the current measure If you tap the pedal after 5 of the measure has been played it will wait untilthe next measure to play the fll Main Pedal gt Start Beat gt Press Release We designed the BeatBuddy to start playing the beat when you release the pedal rather than when you press down on it This was to allow us to add additional features such as entering tap tempo mode by holding the pedal down while a song Is stopped and stopping a song or Starting a transition by holding the pedal down while a song is paused However this causes around 1 10th of a second of delay in starting the beat so the BeatBuddy can distinguish between a press and ahold For most people not noticeable However for those who want to bring the drums in at an exact time select Press to set the BeatBuddy to start the beat immediately upon a pedal press Of course with the Press setting enabled you cant use the features which require holding down the pedal while the beat Is stopped or paused 23 Main Pedal gt Release Time Our goal is to make the BeatBuddy sound perfect And in pursuit of perfection no detail is too small When the drummer hits the hi hat and then closes it the hi hat mutes or chokes the sound of the open hi hat as it closes Ona physical drum set the resonance of the open hi hat fa
17. switch attachment Footswitch Functions gt 1st Switch Stopped The function that the 19 Ist switch Left will do when pressed while no song is playing Footswitch Functions gt 1st Switch Playing he function that the Ist switch Left will do when pressed while a song is playing Footswitch Functions gt 2nd Switch Stopped Ihe function that the 2nd switch Right will do when pressed while no song is playing Footswitch Functions gt 2nd Switch Playing The function that the 2nd switch Right will do when pressed while a song is playing Functions No Action Nothing happens when pressed Accent Hit Triggers a single sound that Is set for the song part that is Currently playing If a song is not playing it will play the accent hit of the first song part in the song Pause Unpause Pauses and Unpauses the beat Tap Tempo Sets the Tempo beats per minute to the speed that the Switch is tapped Song Advance Loads the next song in the current folder Song Back Loads the last song in the current folder 20 Main Pedal gt Intro gt Enable If an Intro beat is present in the song it will play it normally Main Pedal gt Intro gt Count in Instead of the intro beat it will play a single sound for each beat in the first measure to count you in before the main beat starts This is very useful for when a group of musicians are practicing together and want to all Start at the same time Main Pedal gt Intro gt No
18. t the BeatBuddy is configured to the type of footswitch you are using he BeatBuddy is compatible with standard momentary or latching dual footswitches which have a single TRS Stereo 1 4 output one switch is connected to the Left channel and the other to the Right It is NOT compatible with ABY switches iE Ale IDDN Make sure that the footswitch is connected to the BeatBuddy with a stereo TRS cable and that the cable is plugged in all the way To configure the BeatBuddy to your footswitch press the Drum Set and Tempo knobs down at the same time to enter the Settings menu Select Footswitch and then Footswitch Detector and follow instructions The BeatBuddy will save your settings so you only have to use the Footswitch Detector again if you use a different footswitch 2 Footswitch Detector Footswitch Order _Footswitch Functions _ Volume AL II l lii 4 Settings The settings give you many options to customize the BeatBuday to suit your needs and playing style Io enter the Settings screen press the Drum Set and Tempo knobs at the same time Footswitch Configure your BeatBuddy to the type of footswitch youre using or set what the footswitch buttons do Main Pedal BeatBuddy settings About BeatBuddy Information about your unit Restore Default Settings Resets all settings to the way they were when your BeatBuddy left the factory You can use the arrow buttons to navigate the setti
19. uble tap will play just the outro fll and end the song when only a single fill is required If the song or drum set name is too long to be displayed on the screen you can See it scroll again by pressing the Drum Set or Tempo knob twice Hold the Tempo or Drum Set knob down to set the default tempo or drum set respectively So if you like a certain tempo or drum set for a certain song you dont have to adjust it every time you select that song The setting will be saved If you know you want a certain tempo or drum set but are not Sure which beat to use disable the default tempo and or drum set in the Settings menu so that you dont have to keep adjusting the tempo and drum set while changing songs 28 You can load a rimshot sound ba dum tss or the sound of applause Into the first accent hit of a song and use it as comedic relief in a show Use the BeatBuddy Manager see Section 7 to create a folder on the BeatBuddy with the songs you ll use for a show you can name these folders Coffee House Gig Tuesday Nights etc so you dont have to navigate to find the songs you want in a live performance For added ease use a footswitch attachment to scroll through the songs hands free Want to know which beat to use with a particular famous song Or would you like to find a custom beat made just for that song Look it up on the forum Some of our BeatBuddies have even organized many of these s
20. utro fill When no song is playing Hold down to enter tap tempo mode Inserts accent hit can be any sound amp different for each song part Option Dedicated tap tempo Footswitch functions can be changed in the Settings menu by pressing the Drum Set and Tempo knobs at the same time 13 14 Visual Display The BeatBuddy uses a first of its kind visual display to show you what Is going on with the beat It uses color codes to show what part is being played Color Code Beat Stopped Intro OQutro Main song part loop Fill Transition EE Paused The dark bar is the Visual Metronome It shows where the beats is in the measure How many movements it takes to cross the BeatBuddy s screen depends on the time signature of the beat If the time signature is 4 4 there are 4 beats in the measure and so there are 4 movements to cross the screen If the time signature is 5 4 then there are 5 movements etc All fills and transitions end at the end of the measure so you can Know when the beat will change by watching when the bar will reach the end of the screen This is great for timing your song changes 15 Type of footswitch It is highly recommended you use the official BeatBuddy footswitch sold separately since we designed our footswitch to withstand the heavy use of a BeatBuddy performance If you are not using a BeatBuddy footswitch make Sure that the footswitch is compatible with the BeatBuddy and tha
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